De Ligt delighted to have joined Red Devils

United’s newest signing Matthijs de Ligt says he is thrilled to have signed for one of the biggest clubs in the world and was delighted to be able to make his debut last weekend against Fulham in United’s opening game of the season.

De Ligt made the move to Old Trafford from Bayern Munich, where he spent several years – but things didn’t go as planned for him at the German giants.

The Dutch centre back will be hoping to reignite his career under manager Erik ten Hag and will be aiming to return to the form that saw him regarded as one of the best young defenders in the world.
The 25-year-old chats about his delight at joining United, his ambitions, and what it has been like playing for some of the best clubs in the world.

When you look at your career path, it’s sensational, isn’t it? Ajax, the biggest club in the Netherlands, Juventus, biggest in Italy, and Bayern, biggest in Germany, and now the biggest in England?

Yeah, it’s not bad, it’s not bad. Obviously when I was a kid, I never thought I’d have a career like this, with these amazing clubs. But yeah, I had some great moments in these clubs I played for, and hopefully we can have a lot of success also with this beautiful club, Manchester United. No other player has played for those four clubs.

Does it mean something for you to be associated with such massive institutions?

Yeah, of course. There’s a lot of history in this club. I mean, I grew up with the team of United of Cristiano Ronaldo, Vidic, Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes, Edwin van der Sar, the Dutchman. There is so much history in this club and I’m now speaking about 20 years ago. But even more [further back], when they won the Champions League, the Treble… it’s such a big, historic club. You can feel this already, it’s in the air here. I haven’t seen the stadium yet, but I think if I go there it’s also like you can breathe the history. It’s just amazing that I can be a part of this club.

Every club that you’ve played for has been accustomed to winning major trophies – league titles and so. Do you think your experience will help build a winning culture here?

I hope so. I had some experience in other countries – in Holland, in Italy, in Germany. I’ve played with some amazing players, some experienced players who’ve won a lot. Obviously, we have so many amazing players here too, amazing talents. They haven’t won a league title in a long period, but they won the FA Cup last season, they won, I think, the Carabao Cup the season before. So they know how it is to win, and hopefully now we can build a team together to compete for all of the titles.

You already know the manager. How big a part did he play in your development at Ajax?

He has played a big part, to be fair. He was the first trainer who made me captain. I was 18 years old, and he just gave me so much confidence. He told me right from the start: ‘You are an example for the team, and I want you to be captain.’ I would never have expected that at that moment, but it was such a great honour. Just the confidence he gave me at that time, at that age, was special.

You’ll also be reunited with Andre Onana from Ajax, Tyrell Malacia and Joshua Zirkzee, who are from the Dutch national team. Does it excite you, getting to work with these guys daily?

Yeah, obviously it’s always nice when you know certain players, certain guys. It always makes it a little bit easier, so I’m happy that these guys are already here. But I also can’t wait to meet my other teammates. You’re also not the only player signing today.

What can you tell us about Noussair Mazraoui?

He’s an amazing guy, an amazing player. I’ve known him for a long time – I think around 10 years now. It’s so funny – we spoke about it last week – I don’t know, there’s a reason we always come together. Before at Ajax, then at Bayern Munich, and now at Manchester United. It’s such a special relationship, and I’m happy and glad that he’s also going to be here, and I think we’re going to help each other a lot.

United fans will have seen you in action against us once before, in the Europa League final. You were very impressive then – how would you say you have developed since then?

It’s been a long time. It was 2017, I think. Unfortunately for me, we lost! But it was an amazing experience. I was 17 years old at the time, so obviously I gained a lot of experience. As you are young, you are taking more risks, probably. You find your way into the football world. Seven years later, I can tell that I gained a lot of experience. I played for amazing clubs, played with amazing players, and hopefully I can help the players that are here, and to win trophies for this club.

Like you say, you’ve played with some unbelievably talented, experienced players before… Chiellini and Ronaldo at Juventus, Muller, Neuer, Kimmich at Bayern. What have you learned from playing with all of these legends of the game?

I think you learn something from everybody. Cristiano has been here and made big, big history here. He takes care of his body like a temple… the way he treats his body, the way he eats, the way he sleeps, it’s such a big example for young players like me. Chiellini, Bonucci, they were like defensive masters. They knew the game, they knew exactly what to do in certain moments, how to defend in the box, how to defend outside the box. They are so smart, so clever. In Bayern, I played with Neuer, with Muller… serial winners who’ve won everything, like the World Cup, the Champions League, the Bundesliga, everything. Just looking at these guys and learning certain things from them, it’s always so valuable. Besides being amazing players, they are also amazing human beings. I think that’s the most important thing, besides being an amazing football player, also being a really good and kind human being.

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